Unicorns Of Love And Misfits: The Battle Of The Fan Favourites

Unicorns of Love and Misfits have something in common, having both exceeded their initial expectations heading into the European League of Legends Championship Series Spring Split. Excellent records for both squads, with both dropping just a single series to G2 eSports, it is time for the two dark horses to go head to head – there is only room for one fairytale story in the EU LCS.

With Misfits enjoying a remarkable first split in the EU’s top tier and the Unicorns enjoying a rich vein of form, both sides will be looking to capitalise in this cross group match up and scoop up the unofficial prize of most surprising squad of the split.

Misfits are a tale in their own right. Having only just achieved LCS status, their achievements would be even more impressive if G2 eSports hadn’t achieved the Spring Split Championship in their first EU LCS split. With some experienced members on the lineup, Misfits are no doubt proving the sceptics wrong, demonstrating that a multilingual roster is not adversely affecting team communication.

With wins over the established names of Fnatic and Splyce, the sky is the limit for a side whose team play, communication and overall gameplay is a delight for League of Legends fans to watch.

Source: Riot Games Flickr

On the other side of the ring we have the Unicorns of Love – a side that have looked shaky at times, especially in the early game – but their team fighting and late game dominance has led them to be a team to fear in the EU LCS. With great team communication and solid objective control across the map, they will definitely be one of the teams to beat as the season approaches the playoffs.

With the Unicorns of Love having finally found their formula to success, the question is how long can they keep it up? The Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice did not go as planned for UOL, but it gave them a chance to enjoy themselves and represent Europe on an international stage. Their tournament success in Oakland has provided the team with a taste for international success, a sensation that will drive the team towards Worlds.

One of the key factors that will divide the two teams will be the jungle role. Some of the best plays from the EU LCS Spring Split have stemmed from the play of Misfits’ Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon and Unicorns of Love’s Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir; both players have demonstrated credentials that have put them in consideration to be crowned “Jungler of the Split”. The showdown between Europe’s two dark horse could well be decided by these two players: shotcalling, map presence and lane assistance will be critical to gaining an advantage – small details will define the series.

The beauty of being underdogs is that you can only go up in fan’s estimations, regardless of the outcome of the series between these two EU LCS’ fan favourites. The tragedy for both Unicorns of Love and Misfits is that come the end of the season, it’s likely only one of these two team’s will be able to claim a remaining slot of the World Championship.

8 Moments G2 eSports Made EU LCS Fans’ Blood Boil

G2-8: Mid-Season Invitational

After dominating throughout their first competitive EU LCS split, G2 eSports crashed out of MSI with a meme-worthy 2-8 record.

PerkZ: “We went on vacation”

Source: lolesports

Vacation is Over

Opting to embrace their very own vacation memes, G2 released a tongue-in-cheek promotional video for the split titled: "Vacation is over". Meanwhile the European region came to terms with their second tier seeding for the World Championship.

G2 Pick Up Zven and Mithy

Dubbed as the strongest bot lane duo in the region, G2 eSports picked up Zven and Mithy from fan favourites, Origen. The move was later revealed to have decimated the OG roster, who were left with little time to find replacements.

G2 Continue To Dominate EU LCS

Despite their unfavourable reputation, G2 eSports continued to demolish the competition in the EU LCS. Adopting a bad-boy persona, the roster won the Summer Split with ease and secured Worlds qualification... everyone knew how that would end.

Perkz Spells “Vacation” At Worlds

As G2 eSports took to the international stage for the opening fixture of the World Championship, all eyes were on the team to step up and redeem themselves. Analysts predicted G2 to be potential semi-finalists ahead of their first game with NA's Counter Logic Gaming. PerkZ didn't seem to be taking the game all too seriously however, spelling out "V-A-C-A-T..." with his champion hovers during picks and bans. At least he found it funny.

PerkZ Flare Flash

The NA vs EU narrative didn't follow the predicted script. CLG, the NA LCS' 4th placed team steamrolled the European champions. As G2 crumbled in their final team fight, PerkZ rubbed salt in the wounds of the European fanbase, flashing his team logo as he stood helpless waiting for death and defeat.

G2 At IEM Katowice

The Intel Extreme Katowice initially looked set to be another embarrassing episode for G2 eSports internationally. After losing in their opening match to Taiwan's Flash Wolves, G2 recovered to reach the finals where they fell to FW once more.